TAHLEQUAH – Darrin Chiaverini will serve as the 21st Head Football Coach at Northeastern State University, announced NSU Director of Athletics, John Sisemore. Chiaverini most recently served as the head coach at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. A press conference will take place at the Northeastern State University Broken Arrow campus (Annex Building) at 3 p.m. on December 20 and will be webcast at GoRiverHawksGo.com/ CoachChev.
“After an extensive search with well over 150 candidates, the hiring committee is confident Chiaverini meets and exceeds our desired qualifications. We needed a glass-half-full leader who will build on the great things NSU has to offer,” said Sisemore. “After talking with Coach Chiaverini, I immediately recognized his leadership and coaching styles are the right fit at NSU. Drawing on his successes as a Division I and professional football player, as well as coaching at all levels, he creates a distinct vision that all can follow.”
“Coach Chiaverini exemplifies the character of what I pride myself on: A man of few words with relentless positive actions. This is the true makeup of our community as well as our institution. The community of Tahlequah, the great Cherokee Nation, as well as the NSU family have established a culture of blue-collar work ethic. Our community has a relentless desire to meet and overcome challenges head-on. Together with Coach Chiaverini, we are ready to collectively show the world why we are so proud of our community and NSU.”
The former NFL and University of Colorado wide receiver brings a wealth of experience to Tahlequah, having coached at the NCAA Division 1 and junior college levels for 16 years. Chiaverini comes to NSU from Chaffey College, where he took over a program that was a combined 2-18 during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In his first season with the Panthers, he completely revitalized the program, coaching the team to an 11-0 record and ending the season as the American Metro Conference Champions and 2023 American Division Bowl Champions.
Chiaverini’s other coaching accolades from the 2023 campaign include QB Dereun Dortch being named American Metro Conference MVP and Chiaverini being awarded the title of American Metro Conference Coach of the Year, along with 3C2A Region IV California Coach of the Year. The Panthers also set four school records during the 2023 campaign, including 46.0 ppg (ranked #1 in conference, T-#1 in CA), 513.0 ypg (ranked #1 in conference, #2 in CA), 58% – 3rd Down Conversions (ranked #1 in conference, #1 in CA), and 89% – Red Zone Scoring (ranked #1 in conference, #1 in CA).
Chiaverini spent the 2022 season as a senior analyst for UCLA. Under his leadership, UCLA’s offense was ranked fourth in the country with 507.8 ypg, and ranked ninth in the country averaging 39.6 ppg. UCLA finished the season ranked 17th in the final AP Poll, and earned a berth in the Sun Bowl in El Paso Texas.
Prior to his time at UCLA, Chiaverini was on the staff of his alma mater, the University of Colorado, filling several positions during his tenure from 20162021. In those six years, he was wide receivers coach (all six years), offensive coordinator (five seasons), assistant head coach (one year) and briefly interim head coach, while also serving in the dual role of recruiting coordinator. He has been nationally recognized for his recruiting efforts; Rivals. com named him one of the top 25 recruiters in the country for the three recruiting classes pre-COVID (2018, 2019 and 2020).
Under Chiaverini’s mentorship during his time at Colorado, he coached five receivers that finished among the university’s all-time top 20 in yards (passing Chiaverini on the list, dropping him down to 21st). He also worked with the top two quarterbacks in passing yards in CU history, Sefo Liufau and Steven Montez.
Chiaverini was the special teams coordinator and outside receivers coach during the 2014-15 seasons for Texas Tech. During his tenure with the Red Raiders, he recruited from the Dallas, Houston, and the Southern California regions. One of his players, Jakeem Grant, earned secondteam All-America honors at kick returner for the 2015 season.
